John Cazale was a real trooper to keep working despite the terminal cancer, just getting his scenes finished before his untimely passing.
If you read message boards, the film really divides vets, if only because of the made-up Russian Roulette stuff, but I think it still works in context in showing Nicky’s descent into madness.
Every movie John Cazale was in (including clips of him in The Godfather 3) was nominated for Best Picture. Impressive.
How he did TDH while dying? Wow...
It definitely works. The role of Nicky cemented Christopher Walken’s star, for sure.
Like I’ve posted before (DeNiro’s political leanings aside), either TDH or Raging Bull is the greatest Anerican film ever, IMO.